Van Avermaet, ok sprinter but not good enough for the win. Ok classics man but not good enough for the win. Ok climber (for a sprinter), but not good enough for the win. That's Greg VA in a nutshell, good at a handful of skills, great at none.

Van Avermaet, ok sprinter but not good enough for the win. Ok classics man but not good enough for the win. Ok climber (for a sprinter), but not good enough for the win. That's Greg VA in a nutshell, good at a handful of skills, great at none.

True, Hope Morabito goes well as he had **** luck yesterday. The motorbikes went around the same way he did and it was not fenced off and he gets relegated!

tgsgirl said:

Van Avermaet, ok sprinter but not good enough for the win. Ok classics man but not good enough for the win. Ok climber (for a sprinter), but not good enough for the win. That's Greg VA in a nutshell, good at a handful of skills, great at none.

He just needs to find what he wants to be first, cause he's trying to be 17 things at once right now (sprinter? cobbled classics man? breakaway guy? 11th in San Seb?). It's like he's trying to juggle seventeen balls in the air. If he decides on one path it doesn't mean the other roads are completely closed off, but it would help him focus, get good results and ultimately get his confidence back.

He just needs to find what he wants to be first, cause he's trying to be 17 things at once right now (sprinter? cobbled classics man? breakaway guy? 11th in San Seb?). It's like he's trying to juggle seventeen balls in the air. If he decides on one path it doesn't mean the other roads are completely closed off, but it would help him focus, get good results and ultimately get his confidence back.

So since it seems that Greg has more than one discussion thread (well deserved). I paste here what I said last year:

Van Avermaet deserves a lot more recognition from cycling fans than he has on CN (but well CN ...).

To me Greg epitomises fighting spirit, dedication and competitiveness while relatively lacking raw talent on an international scene. Sagan has a lot more talent than him but if he had Greg's professional conscientiousness, he would have twice his palmares by now. Greg is laughed at because he supposedly always loses (CNers forgot about the fact that he already won a classic and in a brilliant manner) but when he's nearly lost a race, he does not sit back/throw up his hands, he forgets and just focuses on the next race. Tomorrow is another day. And that's how his calendars regularly exceed 80 or even 90 days and that's how you'd see him on such diverse races as Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, even the Tour of Lombardy which he finished 12th. Even on the Amstel, what would have happened if he were allowed by his team to take his turn with Fuglsang instead of racing for Gilbert. He finished all of the 5 so-called "Monuments" in the first 12. That's quite amazing. When did we last have such a versatile rider?

I don't want to be chauvinistic but I like the current blend of Belgian riders, the generation 1985 to 1988: Van Avermaet, Roelandts, Vanmarcke... They don't win a lot but the

The discussion was about versatility, not palmares. GVA can do well in cobbled classics (podium PR, RVV, win Omloop) to hilly classics (top 10 LBL, close to winning San Sebastian before taken down by a motor).

Valverde has more wins in higher level races, sure, but GVA can easily rival him in terms of versatility, which is what the discussion was about........